Spotlight on... West Ham

Jose Mourinho will take charge of his first game as our Head Coach on Saturday lunchtime as we head to West Ham United (12.30pm kick-off).

And it is a team that Jose seems to enjoy facing as he has enjoyed victory against the Hammers in 11 of the 16 times he has encountered them, losing just twice.

So, ahead of our visit to the London Stadium, we put Manuel Pellegrini’s side under the spotlight.

Team news

West Ham boss Pellegrini has confirmed that Michail Antonio (hamstring) and Mark Noble (ankle) will both be available for the game after recovering from their respective injuries.

West Ham’s form

Since defeating Jose’s old club, Manchester United, 2-0 at the end of September, the Hammers have been unable to find victory. Following that positive result, they were dumped out of the League Cup by Oxford United after a 4-0 defeat before they took on a run of six Premier League games. In that period, Pellegrini’s side have picked up just two points - after draws with Bournemouth and Sheffield United - and have lost in each of the other four with defeats against Crystal Palace, Everton, Newcastle and Burnley.

New faces

Six new faces arrived at the London Stadium over the summer. Two keepers made the move to the east end of the capital with Roberto joining from Espanyol and David Martin arriving from Millwall. Young centre-back Goncalo Cardoso signed from Boavista while Spanish Under-21 midfielder Pablo Fornals joined from Villareal. Forward options were also added with Albian Ajeti moving from FC Basel and Sebastien Haller joining from Eintracht Frankfurt.

Leader of the opposition

Manuel Pellegrini was appointed West Ham United manager in the summer of 2018 and enjoyed a bright first season with the Hammers as he guided them to 10th in the Premier League. Having spent his entire career as a centre-back for his hometown club, Universidad de Chile, in the South American nation, it was with the same team that Pellegrini began his managerial career in 1988.

Over the next 12 years, he moved around the continent, taking posts at clubs such as LDU Quito in Ecuador and River Plate in Argentina before moving to Europe for the first time in 2004 to join Villareal. Real Madrid came calling in 2009 before he joined Malaga just a year later. He moved to Manchester City in 2013, where he led the Citizens to the Premier League title and two League Cups, before a stint with Herbei China Fortune ahead of his arrival at the London Stadium.

Last five meetings

27 April, 2019 – Spurs 0-1 West Ham – Premier League
31 October, 2018 – West Ham 1-3 Spurs – League Cup
20 October, 2018 – West Ham 0-1 Spurs – Premier League
4 January, 2018 – Spurs 1-1 West Ham – Premier League
25 October, 2017 – Spurs 2-3 West Ham – League Cup

The numbers game

3 – We have won three of our last five away league games against West Ham, including the last two in a row.

83 – We have gone 83 Premier League games without a 0-0 draw, the third longest such run in the competition’s history after Manchester United (114 games between May 1999- May 2002) and Ipswich Town (87 games between August 1994-September 2001).

28 - Harry Kane has scored 28 goals in 45 Premier League London derbies – only Thierry Henry (43), Teddy Sheringham (32) and Frank Lampard (32) have netted more goals in such games. Kane averages a goal every 132 minutes in these fixtures.

3 - Only against Liverpool (5) has West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini lost more Premier League games than he has against us (3).

22 – We have won 22 Premier League games against West Ham – only versus Everton (26) and Man City (23) have we registered more.

Played for both

Michael Carrick came through the West Ham academy before joining us in 2004. A commanding central midfielder, Michael spent five years with the Hammers before Jacques Santini moved to sign him in the August.

The England international, who made over 30 appearances for his country, made a slow start to his career at White Hart Lane but quickly became a regular in the side as Santini was replaced by Martin Jol in the November. Born in Newcastle, he scored his first goal for the Club against Sunderland in the following season - a 77th-minute winner in a 3-2 triumph at the start of December - and went on to score just one more for us before leaving for Manchester United in the summer of 2006.

At Old Trafford, Michael continued his growth as a player and went on to earn 11 major honours including the Champions League in 2008 and played under our new Head Coach, Jose Mourinho, in his final two seasons with the Red Devils. Following the end of that season, he joined the coaching staff at United - a role which he continues in today.

Quick quiz on the Hammers

1. Who scored our winner the last time we visited the London Stadium in the Premier League as we secured a 1-0 triumph against West Ham?

• Moussa Sissoko
• Erik Lamela
• Heung-Min Son

2. Harry Winks scored on his first Premier League start against West Ham in November, 2016 - who scored twice that day in a 3-2 win at the Lane?

• Harry Kane
• Christian Eriksen
• Dele

3. Harry Redknapp spent four years in charge of us between 2008 and 2012 having previously managed West Ham United, but in what year did he first take charge of the Hammers?

• 1994
• 1995
• 1996

4. Which of our current players made their Spurs debut against West Ham?

• Christian Eriksen
• Paulo Gazzaniga
• Eric Dier

5. Who was the last player to join us in a direct transfer from West Ham?

• Scott Parker
• Jermain Defoe
• David Bentley

Pictures from the past

Match data

Venue – London Stadium.

Opposition colours – Claret and blue shirts, claret shorts, claret and blue socks.

Referee – Michael Oliver.

Weather – Chance of showers, 11 degrees.

Quiz answers: 1 – Erik Lamela; 2 – Harry Kane; 3 – 1994; 4 - Eric Dier; 5 – Scott Parker.